Yum Yum Too - Thai in NYC

So I've decided that hell's kitchen in NYC has been slowly turning into a little ThaiTown. All along 9Th ave between 42ND and 57Th street is lit with little affordable Thai joints. I can't help but be so delighted of this.

So,last week I visited Yum Yum Too (a sister of Yum Yum, the fancier big sister) @ 46Th and 9Th with a couple of my friends. We were VERY impressed. The decor and ambiance was trendy but casual (my favorite!). The lunch special was an unbeatable deal AND delicious for $6.95. No where in Philadelphia will you find that. C'mon Philly, get your Thai food act together!!

We all had a noodle dish with 2 appetizers. You get to pick 2 appetizers out of the following: fried spring rolls, Thai salad, rice noodles or spicy lemon grass soup. I had my usual, Pad Se-ew with extra egg (extra egg is a must) and the gals had shrimp pad Thai. Although the appetizer portions were quite small the main dish did not disappoint. Everything was flavorful and had nice presentation.

Next time you're in NYC and are hungry for some Thai, go and explore 9Th ave where Thai establishments are plentiful and sure to please you.




1st 'Yum Yum Too' Image via Flickr: Ian Muttoo

Bus Stop's Haiti Relief & Warehouse Sale

One of my favorite local shoe shop, Bus Stop, is having a warehouse sale where a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross/Haiti Relief. What better reason to buy shoes?!

The warehouse sale will be held in an old fabric store on 4th st fabric row. Mark downs will be up to 75% and prices start at $25 on brands like Farylrobin, United Nude, Terra Plana and lots more.
Prices starting at $25, so come in early to pick up the best bargains!

Warehouse Location: 727 S. 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147.

Warehouse Hours:

Thursday, January 28th 11am - 6pm

Friday, January 29th 11am - 7pm

Saturday, January 30th 11am - 6pm

Sunday, January 31st 12pm - 6pm

Image Via BusStopBoutique.com

V-Day Craft Day

Check out this D.I.Y. awesome rosey wall mural. Get out your glue guns!





Craftiness via: http://megangalante.blogspot.com/2010/01/rosy.html

Hats: Completely Underrated

Why don't we wear hats any more. And no, I'm not talking about the fedora that Britney brought back or beanies or knited barrets! I'm talking about straw hats with ornate silk flowers on them. Milinary is a lost art. really!







Vintage hats images via: haightandashbury blog

Jessica Stam - A tribute to a friend, Caroline

Vibrant Raspberry!






How georgeous.

Red and Black, my favorite color combination.



Black and White photos creates so much more emotion.

Images of Jessica Stam by Mei Yuan Gui, Via Elle China

Feathers and Face Painting

Polina Kouklina by Miles Aldridge, via Fashion Gone Rouge. A fav fashion blog of mine.

Sheer Shoes

I think I just died and went to heaven.
Sheer, peep-toe booties with bows and the tattoo showing through is soo sexy. Not to mention red soles. Marchesa via NYmag.

Puss in Boots; Italian Market

Praise the (shoe) Lord! A shoe boutique opened up in SOUTH PHILLY!

Puss In Boots,a pioneer in the Philadelphia shoe shop scene is a vintage shoe boutique specializing in boots. Yes ladies, boots. Oh, the clever cat!

After being spoiled in NYC for 4 years, where shoe shops were abundant, I felt hopeless when I moved to Philly. Shoe shop drought. I thought I'd never see the day where I'd by another pair of awesome shoes again. What?..Whats that you say? Why not buy online? Well, call me old fashioned but paying for something that I never tried on, especially shoes, online drives me nuts. So, no, no Zappos.com for me and needless to say, I'm a fan of the shoe boutiques.

My 2 and a half year research leads me to believe that majority types of shoe stores in Philly are chains. IE. Steve Madden, Nine West, Aldo, or even worse, Bare Feet Shoes. That's just not my style. Which is why I emphasize 'boutique' or 'shop' not, store. So for all of you proclaimed shoe addicts out there, pay a visit to one of our very own Philadelphia shoe boutique, Puss In Boots @ 1134 S. 9Th St. They're open from W-S, 11-7pm. Fantastic!

Philly Restaurant Week - CHIFA

Chifa, a Chinese Peruvian Joint by my favorite Iron Chef Jose Garces, is on the TOP of my list for Philly restaurant week! So excited. The Chufa rice with scallops, chorizo, chicken and eggs! YUM!

Complimentary Buns

Thai Thursday

Every Thursday, I will be talking about the Thai food scene in Philly (or lack there of)! As I Thai myself, I'm always on the look out for new Thai establishments. There are a number of good and bad Thai restaurants in Philly so each week I will put the spotlight on 1 restaurant and give it my approval stamp, or not!

Today, I'll be focusing on Mango Moon in Manayunk. A sister restaurant of Chabaa Thai down on Main street (which I need to try myself!). I went to Mango Moon with 7 friends on NYE. MM calls itself a restaurant with Bangkok street food style. I'm not sure about street food BUT it was great. The atmosphere was trendy with a casual vibe. There were unusual dishes on the menu which was a definite surprise.





Some of the star dishes are king crab fried rice which had huge chunks of crab meat and done in a real Thai style (not the greasy Chinese fried rice kind).

The Spicy Pork Shoulder appetizer, this dish is flavorful and needs to be eaten with sticky rice if you want to do it the REAL Thai way. The Sai Auh, northern Thai sausage was mighty tasty and a favorite with everyone.





The Mango Chili Sea Bass was cooked to perfection with their little side of 'seafood sauce'. Delicious. Overall, the dishes are a little pricey but definitely worth it for the experience. Mango Moon is a must and a tastey little Thai joint that I would go back for more!

Blogs

Over the past few years I've been accumulating quite a large collection of blogs that I love. I'm rather proud of it. It has become apart of daily routine as I scroll through the list picking which one I want to visit first. For me, blogs are a way of exploring new things, communicating ideas and connecting with the people that share the same interest as you.

Everyday, I'm out on a hopeful hunt to stumble upon a blog that I deem excellent. My criteria requires the 'excellent' blogs be 1.) Updated daily 2.) Filled with inspiring images (and without too many words) 3.) Stocked with links to other sites that can be a gateway for me to explore even further.

I don't ask for much for a blog to be..well..good if not excellent. So, my vow to you is to stick to these criterias for my own blog. You will have access to my library of links, catagorized for your convenience, for you to do your own exploring. I will leave you with an image that has inspired me today, via: www.happyladyeats.com. YUM!